This invention relates to an apparatus for distributing conditioned air and, more particularly, to a diffuser used in textile industries for distributing conditioned air to air jet or open end spinning machines in order to reduce the moisture deficit zone created by compressed air used in such spinning machines. It is also contemplated that the present invention may be employed in other textile applications, such as in air jet weaving machines.
It is well-known in modern textile yarn forming operations that the quality of yarn manufactured, whether natural, synthetic, or a mixture thereof, is dependent to some extent upon the condition of the ambient air in which the yarn is produced. For example, the humidity and temperature of the ambient air are kept within predetermined limits to reduce yarn breakage in spinning and weaving operations.
Fairly recently, textile yarn manufacturers began using air jet spinning machines, which employ compressed air in carrying out the yarn spinning process. Typical air jet spinning machines of this type are manufactured by Murata Corporation, among other manufacturers, and can include up to sixty or more spinning positions per spinning machine. This compressed air is relatively dry compared to the optimum humidity and temperature levels for manufacturing yarn, and the adverse effects of such compressed dry air have been countered by supplying conditioned air to the spinning room as a whole. However, this is an inefficient method of conditioning the yarn because the conditioned air must occupy a large volume of space and be directed over large distances to reach the sliver and yarn being processed by air jet spinning machines. Directing strong currents of conditioned air toward the machine may also create problems because conditioned air with other than small velocities can interrupt the spinning process and can cause the sliver to fuzz, which reduces the quality of the yarn. Furthermore, generally directing conditioned air at air jet spinning machines is often ineffective in sufficiently reducing the demoisturizing effects of the compressed air. In fact, it is frequently not feasible to spin pure cotton yarn in air jet spinning machines due to numerous breakdowns from sliver breakage, and one of the reasons for this breakage appears to be the dry condition of the compressed air in the spinning process.